[Drama Recap] "Bubble Gum" Episode 8

I wasn't terribly thrilled with the somewhat contrived difficulties behind the Ri-hwan / Haeng-ah relationship last episode, in part because I wasn't feeling the chemistry. I've changed my mind on both points this time around. The first reason for this is Seon-yeong. As Ri-hwan's mother, Bae Jong-ok very effectively communicates the visage of a parent who makes a deliberate effort not to communicate. Seon-yeong acts like she has good reasons. But Ri-hwan is an adult, and she's still treating him like a child who needs to be protected.
In the context of Seon-yeong's backstory this is actually fairly insulting. When Seon-yeong was ten years younger than Ri-hwan she was willing to fly straight in the face of parental disapproval to do what she wanted in order to be happy. And her parents had clearly defined reasons rather than just generic stubborness. Ri-hwan and Haeng-ah are both kind, empathetic people and Seon-yeong is abusing her willingness to ignore what other people think to drive a wedge between them.
Ironically in this way Seon-yeong isn't really that much different than I-seul's mother. I-seul's mother also wants what's best for her daughter, and she's also willing to micromanage the results if necessary while openly reviling her child over issues of personal character backstory. The whole situation is tremendously unfair to everyone. I'm increasingly getting the feeling that Ri-hwan turned out well less because of Seon-yeong and more because he was fortunate enough to grow up in a more stable proxy environment.
All of this general pain and anguish, while trending toward the melodramatic, does a lot to sell how Ri-hwan and Haeng-ah really do have a legitimate connection. They don't go after each other for the sake of scoring points in the name of some greater nebulous goal. Ri-hwan and Haeng-ah represent to each other mutual support and trust. It's always been a symbiotic relationship. I think they both would have turned out much worse if they'd grown up without each other.
Look at Seong-joon for another example of that. Yes, Seong-joon is still a jerk, but at the same time, he's very transparent about what he wants and why he wants it. Seong-joon knows that he's a jerk and never pretends otherwise. After watching so much of Seon-yeong, that fact becomes much easier to appreciate. Even a jerk like Seon-yeong can see Haeng-ah in obvious pain and think, all right, I need to help her. This is not the time to play emotional mind games.
Review by William Schwartz

"Bubble Gum" is directed by Kim Byeong-soo, written by Lee Mi-na-I and features Lee Dong-wook, Jeong Ryeo-won, Lee Jong-hyuk, Park Hee-bon, Bae Jong-ok, Lee Seung-joon and more.

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